This year, we made a lot of our own picks for Best of Northwest. But for the most important category of all, we turned to the voice of the people.

In our most competitive category, the best dog on campus, there are no losers. Truly all campus dogs are good dogs. But Trooper – the 10-week-old pup who hangs around FoBoGro – is this campus’ best dog.

FoBoGro owner and alumnus Kris Hart rescued the black lab-retriever mix from a kill shelter in Virginia. Hart, who also owns Jade – one of the other best dog finalists – said he wasn’t planning on getting another dog, but knew he needed to rescue Trooper.

“They were going to put him down, and I said, ‘No way,’” Hart said.

In his few short weeks on campus, Trooper has already become a campus icon. He beat out the establishment picks for best campus dog: University President Steven Knapp’s Ruffles and Dean of Student Affairs Peter Konwerski’s dogs Tux and Belles. And he already has his own Facebook page.

“I walk down the street and more people know Trooper’s name than mine, and I’ve been here 17 years,” Hart said.

And how exactly did Trooper get his famous name? Hart and his freshman year roommate used “trooper” as a code word when they needed to ask each other for a little privacy when having special guests over. A friend suggested the name to Hart, and it stuck.

Who’s a good dog? You are, Trooper. You are.

Readers’ pick: Trooper